Forward Bank

Commercial Property Coverage

A commercial property policy provides coverage for many of the most common types of business insurance claims. It protects buildings and their contents, including computers, office equipment, furniture, artwork, and all your business personal property—whether it is owned or leased—if it is damaged by fire, smoke, theft, vandalism, weather, or certain other covered perils. If you own your building, your business property insurance needs to cover damage to the structure and what is inside; if you lease your space, you need this coverage for your business personal property.

Business property insurance typically includes business interruption coverage. If you sustain damage due to a covered peril that forces you to temporarily close or relocate, business interruption coverage reimburses you for ongoing expenses (rent, salaries, etc.) and lost income during the closure or relocation period.

Does your commercial property policy cover the top causes of property damage for businesses, or do you need additional policies or endorsements?

• Burglary and theft. Burglary and theft are two of the most common business property claims. A typical business property policy covers most burglary or theft claims.
• Water damage and freezing. Water damage can be caused by floods, hurricanes, burst pipes, or simple leaky toilets. Like your home, your business is susceptible to numerous kinds of water damage, not all of which are included in your commercial building insurance. There is no standard for water damage coverage; you need to carefully read through your commercial property policy to understand what is and is not covered. Here are some examples.
• Flood from a hurricane or another weather event. Flood damage is not covered under your commercial property policy.
• Burst pipes. Commercial property insurance usually covers water damage due to burst pipes. But if your insurance company feels that you were at fault or failed to take precautions to protect your pipes, your claim could be denied.
• Sewer backup. Sewer backup is not covered under most business property policies; however, you can add sewer backup coverage with a policy endorsement.
• Slow leaks. Plumbing or HVAC leaks are common and can cause a lot of damage. Damage from leaks that are deemed to be sudden and accidental are covered by your business property policy. If your insurance company feels that you have been negligent (perhaps you failed to fix an ongoing leak or properly maintain your building systems), your claim can be denied.
• Ground water seepage. Most insurance companies will not cover damage due to ground water seepage. This is typically considered a maintenance issue.
• Roof leaks. If your roof leaks and the roof and the interior of your building sustain damage due to a covered peril—wind, rain, hail, or fire—the damage is likely to be covered by your business property insurance policy. If the leak and subsequent damage occur because you did not properly maintain your roof, your claim is likely to be denied. If your roof damage is caused by a flood (such as a storm surge during a hurricane), your business property policy is not likely to cover it.
• Wind and hail damage. Wind and hail damage are typically covered claims on a business property policy.
• Fire. Fire is one of the most costly business property claims, and is covered under a commercial property policy.

Business Liability Coverage

Business liability insurance—in all of its forms—is essential to the long-term success of your business. Liability claims are among the most expensive business insurance claims and without appropriate coverage, one lawsuit or unexpected event can force you to close your doors. Your policy must be tailored to your unique business, or you face having limited or no coverage when you really need it.

• General business liability insurance also known as Commercial general liability insurance (CGL)
• CGL is a contract that protects a business against claims due to injuries, accidents, and negligence. It can protect your business from costs related to bodily injury, property damage, medical expenses, legal costs, judgments, and personal injury claims such as libel and slander.

To protect your business from more specific types of emerging threats, like Cyber Liability, you may need to purchase additional liability policies.

Your Forward Insurance agent can help you find the best coverage—from multiple insurance companies—to meet your needs and budget. We will determine the type and amount of coverage you need based on:

• Business size, type and value
• Type of work you do
• Type of risks
• Level of liability

Commercial Auto Coverage

Do you have snow plowing business? Or does your business deliver food or other supplies? If you have staff members who get behind the wheel, your commercial vehicle insurance will protect your business financially in the event of incident on the road.

There is no "one size fits all." The variables that affect the kind of coverage you need include the size of your company, whether you have one company car, a dump truck, a fleet of limousines or freight trucks, or a few delivery vans. You also may need special coverage for transporting hazardous or flammable materials. In addition to these factors, your commercial vehicles may be subject to state and federal regulations that impact your insurance coverage.

Every business is unique, and therefore each commercial vehicle policy must be tailored to the business.

To get the right policy and the right amount of coverage for your company, talk with a Forward Insurance agent who will fully explore your commercial vehicle usage and risks. When you meet with your agent, be sure to provide all the important facts regarding your company vehicle use, such as:

• How is the company organized (from a legal perspective)?
• What types of vehicles does your company use?
• Who owns them?
• Who drives them? You will need to provide driver’s license information for each driver.
• How often do you or your employees drive these vehicles?
• Do you transport people? Transport or deliver goods? Use the vehicles to provide services?
• What kind?

The bottom line is that a business needs a flexible, tailored company auto insurance policy, and it is important to make sure your policy adequately covers your real-world use and risks.

Inland Marine Coverage

Despite its name, inland marine insurance has nothing to do with protecting your boat. While the main job of this type of insurance is to protect commercial goods being shipped over land, it also covers personal property being shipped and expensive valuables that are stored at a home or business.

When it comes to protecting your valuables in transit, inland marine coverage can end up saving you thousands.

Ocean Marine Vs Inland Marine:

• Inland marine insurance was originally designed to cover goods as they were moved along inland waterways to their final destination. Eventually, the inland marine definition was expanded to include most types of inland transportation (cars, trucks, trains and planes) as well as offering protection while the goods were stored at docks or warehouses.
• Ocean marine insurance covers property and goods while they are on a vessel on the water. However, coverage ends when the goods are offloaded onto land; this is where inland marine insurance takes over.

Inland marine policy covers:

• Property in transit
• Mobile medical equipment
• Contractor’s equipment
• Property in the custody of a bailee
• Property deemed to be an instrumentality of transportation or communication, such as bridges and radio towers

Commercial Umbrella Coverage

Business lawsuits happen every day. But many small to mid-sized businesses think that only big businesses are at risk of legal action. It is important to know any business can be hit with a liability claim or lawsuit. Relatively minor actions, and even a moment of inattention by one of your employees on the road, can unfortunately lead to big legal action.

Here are some examples of liability risks:

• An employee says something damaging about another person or corporate entity on a social media platform while on the job
• Advice that a staff member provides, in a consulting capacity (such as financial or tax advice) leads to a patron's financial loss
• A business patron slips on an icy walkway or is injured falling down slippery steps
• A bartender at the local watering hole serves one too many cocktails and a customer causes a deadly accident

Business umbrella insurance provides extra liability protection to help protect your business in the event of a major lawsuit. Top reasons to make sure you business is covered:

• Your professional liability insurance can be quickly exhausted by legal defense fees
• You have significant business assets to protect
• Your company is at risk of legal claims due to the nature of the products or services you provide
• You work in a field that is prone to litigation

What is your risk? When you want to assess the likelihood of a liability claim being filed against you, and evaluate the resources you need to have in place to protect your bottom line, a chat with an Forward Insurance agent who specializes in commercial insurance is a great place to start.

Cyber Liability Coverage

Navigating the Internet can be difficult enough when dealing with multiple accounts, email marketing and search engine optimization, but you're also responsible for protecting the information that you store there. Cyber liability insurance may be the answer:

To understand what protection cyber liability insurance provides, you must first understand the risk you face as a business. Cyber-attacks don't necessarily occur in the ether of Internet. Cyber-attacks can also include computer hardware problems, communication media errors, system backup and operating system errors and even errors and fraud involving internal people like system administrators.

Three common types of cyber risks include:

1. Natural: The most common errors and losses result from severe weather. For example, a lightning strike or power surge can severely damage or destroy an entire database.
2. Human error: These unintentional acts can involve something as simple as leaving a laptop that has access to patient medical records, at the airport.
3. Intentional: This involves illegal criminal activity and can occur outside the organization, by hackers or criminals, or inside the organization.

Contrary to popular belief, nearly all businesses are susceptible to a cyber-attack and your general liability policy may not cover the associated risks, which include loss of control over sensitive customer data. Contact a Forward Insurance agent to discuss your options.

Workers Compensation Coverage

While no business owner wants to see a worker injured, accidents happen all the time. As an employer, you are legally obligated to make sure you provide a safe workplace and compensation in the event of an accident or injury.

Workers compensation insurance serves two purposes: It assures that injured workers get medical care and compensation for a portion of the income they lose while they are unable to return to work and it usually protects employers from lawsuits by workers injured while working.

Workers compensation covers:

• Both full-time and part-time employees.
• Most injuries that arise from work-related duties. The most common workman's comp injuries are related to traffic accidents that occur while an employee is driving for work-related purposes.
• Workman's comp also covers some illnesses and diseases that are contracted as a direct result of employment. This is typically related to toxic chemicals, and laws about covered illnesses vary from state to state.

Rules vary from one state to the next and can also vary depending on employee's occupation. Some states only require workers compensation insurance if you have a minimum number of employees, while other states exempt some categories of workers.

Lower your insurance rates:

• Manage your risk. Make every effort to keep the workplace environment safe for your employees to minimize accident risks.
• Experience modifiers. This means your insurance provider will offer a customized premium based on previous losses.
• Compare Premiums. A Forward Insurance agent can help you find the most cost-effective workman's comp insurance by offering customized quotes from multiple companies. By taking time to compare premiums, you'll get peace of mind, knowing that you're not paying too much for workman's comp while also providing for your employees should they be injured.

Does Workers Compensation Protect against Lawsuits?

In practically every case, workers compensation acts as a safety guard against lawsuits, but there are times when you can still be sued. These lawsuits are generally restricted to situations where an employee suffered a fatal accident and the employer is accused of gross negligence. The rules regarding lawsuits vary from state to state, so it's best to check with your insurance agent and your state workers compensation regulator to see what is and isn't covered, so you can best ensure complete legal protection.